1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an exterior rearview for vehicles, in particular, motor vehicles, comprising a mirror base to be fastened to the vehicle and a mirror head with mirror glass which is connected to the mirror base so as to be foldable in at least one direction relative to the mirror base, and further comprising at least one electrical line which is guided through the mirror base to at least one electrical consumer in the mirror head.
2. Description of the Related Art
In exterior rearview mirrors of the aforementioned kind, the mirror head can be pivoted from the position of use into a folded (parking) position to the rear when viewed in the travel direction of the motor vehicle. The mirror head, however, can also be pivoted relative to the mirror base upon impact to the front in the travel direction. A disadvantage in this connection is that such a folding movement must also be carried out by the electrical lines extending to the electrical consumers in the mirror head, for example, a heating device for the mirror glass or an electrical drive for adjusting the mirror glass.
It is an object of the present invention to configure an exterior rearview mirror of the aforementioned kind such that, when pivoting the mirror head relative to the mirror base, the electrical lines in the exterior rearview mirror will not impair the folding movement.
In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved in that the line is comprised of at least one line section arranged within the mirror base and at least one line section arranged within the mirror head, wherein the line sections are connected to one another by plug parts which, when folding the mirror head, become detached from one another and, when pivoting the mirror head back, automatically are reinserted into one another.
As a result of the detachable connection of the plug parts provided between the line sections, between the mirror head and the mirror base there are no lines which could impair the pivot movement when folding or pivoting the mirror head relative to the mirror base. The plug parts become detached from one another when folding or pivoting the mirror head and, when pivoting the mirror head back into the position of use, are automatically reinserted into one another. In this way it is possible to reestablish in a constructively simple way the required line connection.